Just wanted to pass on a thank you for all the work you have done on this course. We had a foursome play the new course for the first time and it was an absolute blast! The course is coming along great and although there are a few rough spots yet, it was one of the better courses I have played.

Course navigation was easy if you followed the signs and looked for the carpeted pads. The only real challenge we had was finding the first tee from the lower parking lot (Fortunately, ran into a gentleman who pointed it out to us).

I do need to get out and play it again, but I think it is going to be just a weekend thing for us as we started at 6pm and had to quit due to darkness about 9:15....

Hate to admit it but we were the dumbasses who forgot to lock the car...got 2 wallets and an iphone stolen...just a reminder to you locals to double check that you locked your car at this course. Other than that i look forward to playing this course again next time i'm in town. Fantastic course, keep up the good work.

Finally got out to play the new setup and am happy to say that it didn't disappoint! Glad 15-18 were left virtually intact but really hate #18 (+7 strokes in 2 rounds)! Can't wait to get back! Thanks Ritger and the rest who obviously put in a lot of work on it.

Was able to get back to the course on Saturday for another round (it is about 1.5 hours to get there for me) and I have to say that John and the rest of the group working on this course have done a fabulous job. The new tee pads are awesome and I cannot wait to get back to play after the signs are put up. Our muddled 4-some had some difficulty navigating the course even with the map.

One side note, with all of the snow and rain over the last few weeks, the trail down the hill on 7 (from the tee pad to the basket) was treacherous. the dirt path had turned to mud and was quite slippery. It was the only time on the course that I felt unsafe. Is there a plan for a staircase down similar to 1 or 12?

Splash_4 wrote:Was able to get back to the course on Saturday for another round (it is about 1.5 hours to get there for me) and I have to say that John and the rest of the group working on this course have done a fabulous job. The new tee pads are awesome and I cannot wait to get back to play after the signs are put up. Our muddled 4-some had some difficulty navigating the course even with the map.

One side note, with all of the snow and rain over the last few weeks, the trail down the hill on 7 (from the tee pad to the basket) was treacherous. the dirt path had turned to mud and was quite slippery. It was the only time on the course that I felt unsafe. Is there a plan for a staircase down similar to 1 or 12?

Glad you enjoyed the course, it's definitely come a long way, and getting signage installed is the next big project--see the "Construction" thread for info on workdays this month. As far as the trail on 7 goes, I would definitely love to improve it, but the two sticking points are materials and time. John and I have walked that area a couple times, and if you stand on the trail, you may notice a couple of spots that are gouged out in the middle--what's happened is that the original work order with the city to create drainage from above (into the stormwater grate near the short teepad) has either settled or wasn't done right the first time, and now a portion of the water is coming down the sidehill instead of into the stormwater system... so basically anything we do there is likely to be undermined in some way.

We also don't have any granite blocks left over from the other sets of steps and the masonry walls for the teepads, and wood has a shorter lifespan. Basically, whatever solution we implement at that part of the course would have to be safe, appealing to all users (it's tricky to construct a set of steps that doesn't elicit the reaction "lol nope" and have people cutting the trail), and a dramatic improvement over the current solution. I'm not thrilled about the existing trail, but short of reworking the drainage above the path, re-benching the trail, talking John into buying MORE materials, and spending the 40-50 man hours that a project like that would take, I'd rather suck it up and work on some other places that need help.

And to show you that I'm not just being lazy, paths that also need improving around the course--not even thinking about trees that need to come out, or stumps in the fairways:-Hole 1, the junction between the paths between 1/5 got really muddy with the snowmelt and subsequent rain. Needs more steps, especially leading up towards 5.-Hole 2/3, the unofficial paths that go down into the creekbed where golfers are retrieving discs are pretty sketchy; I'd really like to install some steps by the big ivy-covered tree on both sides of the creek.-Hole 4, I got a little over halfway done with the wooden steps, which were working pretty well (just needed some more gravel), and then got completely hosed by the Rec Center's roof runoff, which all cascades into the gutters, into the downspout, and screams across the ground, buffeting the steps. I'm torn between enhancing the drainage so that it flows more across the grass and less down the steeper, barer hillside, and just letting it flow where it does and channeling the flow with bricks so that it's not gouging the hillside and running over the steps.-Hole 5, the path from the long, especially, needs to be cleared and stabilized.-Hole 9, everything up to the path bisecting the hole (hole drives uphill, plays downhill, then there's the path and you go back uphill to the basket) is pretty good for now, but it would be just a couple hours with some rocks or wood to build a path into the slippery clay slope about 120' out from the basket.-Between hole 9 and hole 10, it should be quick work to put in 2 steps at the 1' dropoff near the long teepad.-Hole 10, the rolling trail is really slippery between the long and the baskets. I'm thinking of graveling it.-Between hole 10 and hole 11, the steep slope approaching 11's teepad is among my top priorities. I've looked at rerouting it to a less steep section, but really it needs steps put in.

So for now we're trying to get the long-term stuff in place (final pin locations, signs, frames around pins to stop mowers from destroying them) and we'll continue working on the trails and other, less-golfy parts of the course after that. If you've made it this far into this post, I hope it's clear how much work goes into building ANY course, and how important it is to volunteer some of your time to keep improving the sport we all love.